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DAVID BENTLEY'S COLUMN

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Fear and Blame

Times have changed on our island, and much is different from when I arrived in 1991. Not long ago, most of us didn't know where our house keys were. It would never have occurred to us to lock our doors. We regularly left our automobile keys in the ignition, and often left checkbooks and purses in our unlocked cars.

Now, however, personal items get taken from our vehicles. Cars and trucks with keys in them are removed from the island, before the owner even realizes they're missing. Thieves watch neighborhoods, and steal people's possessions while they are gone from their homes.

Earlier this year, a theatrical set was vandalized with fire extinguishers. Only a week before this year's County Fair, vandals wrecked the hay-bale maze built to be the centerpiece of the fair. Graffiti is regularly appearing on buildings, bathroom walls, and signs. Last week, a local resident died after having been involved in a family argument which allegedly ended in a shooting. What will be next? Aren't these the activities that we came to the island to escape?

Some eagerly accuse the ubiquitous "they" for most of these problems. Fingers get pointed at "derelict" youth whose "incompetent" parents can't control them. Some residents demand tougher laws and increased police patrols. Others even blame the media for publicizing the islands as a great place to live or visit. However, these actions won't solve our problems; and the experience of bigger cities shows that locks, alarms, and more arrests don't solve them either.

Before these current problems, did a greater percentage of islanders know each other personally? Did residents share a greater respect for the island and their island neighbors? And if so, why was that? The answers to these questions, and others like them, could lead to solutions better than those produced by fear and blame.

  • Are you quick to react out of fear or by blaming others?

  • What is the real problem behind these crimes?

  • How could you personally be part of the solution?

  • What would happen if the whole community became proactive?

© 2002 David Bentley

David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world.

He can be reached by phone at 360.378.8436

by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com

or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com

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